KING COUNTY, Wash. — The King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) has a new employee: a two-year-old Golden Retriever/Yellow Lab mix named Mouse.
Detectives tell us he’s a secret weapon when it comes to solving child pornography cases. His job is to sniff out hidden electronic storage devices.
KCSO says he is one of four dogs in the state with these special skills and the only one in King County.
He is partnered with a specific detective, but we can’t show her face or give her name due to potentially compromising investigations.
“Mouse is an electronic storage detection dog,” she said. “His job is to find any and all electronic storage devices that might be important for police to find for cases and evidence.”
Evidence of abuse, including child pornography.
“There’s things like alarm clocks with cameras, key fobs that look like a normal fob, all of those things are readily available just on marketplaces.”
She tells us these types of cases are extremely popular in King County, and the number is getting higher every year. She said Mouse will likely work more than 100 cases a year.
He also assists Pierce and Snohomish Counties on some high-profile warrants as well.
Mouse is specifically trained to know exactly what he is looking for, just like a bomb or arson detection dog would be.
“One of the things they’re indicating on is called TPPO, which is a chemical on devices used so the device doesn’t overheat and combust, that’s one of the things he’s smelling,” she said.
The detective tells us his ability to find even the most hidden storage devices is crucial.
“Since having him it’s hard not to go back and think oh gosh what could we have missed without him,” she said.
When he isn’t out on warrants, Mouse is comforting victims as a therapy dog.
“He might come up and put his head in your lap or shove his head into their hands.”
She tells us dogs like Mouse are rare right now, but they hope to have more like him on the team soon.
©2025 Cox Media Group
